Over the years, we all seem to collect dozens of keychains. These decorative items come in lots of different designs, from simple cute accessories to memorabilia from travels to ones that display our favorite cartoon characters. However, since we only have so many keys in our lives, sometimes we don’t have enough uses for these items, creating piles of these unused accessories in our homes. While you may be tempted to part ways, don’t throw out your old keychains just yet. Instead, try these 16 clever ideas, like using them as Christmas tree decorations or wall art, to repurpose them.

There are many different kinds of keychains including antique, pop culture, hobby interests, promotional, and travel types, and many people get them for various reasons — whether that is to actually hold keys, for sentimental value, as gifts, or for attending an event. Since you may have a number of many different kinds, you should start by sorting out these items based on what you want to do with them. You can also separate the ones that are too damaged or rusted to use in further projects, as well as any that you wish to donate. From there, clean and sanitize your keychains, especially if they have been in a junk drawer. With your keychains in hand, it’s time to repurpose them into cool and functional items.

One of the easiest ways to repurpose your old keychains is to add them to your crafting supplies. Key rings, chains, charms, beads, figurines, leather, and other items on keychains can be recycled for a variety of crafting projects. Grab some pliers and separate each material from the other, organizing them into categories. Then, store them away in your crafting station until you are ready to use each piece. You can even keep the keychain as a whole and use it for a cool piece of art. With your creativity flowing, the options are limitless.

Don’t toss out your old, sentimental, travel, or pop culture keychains. Instead, use them to create funky wall art. A fun way to decorate your basic cork board is to turn it into fabulous wall art with your keychains on it. For this project, you can hang the keychains by themselves on hooks or thumb tacks on a peg or cork board or add them among other items like pictures and posters. Create your cool piece, and then hang it on your wall — that’s all it takes!

Keep your keychains organized and displayed by creating a shadow box for all of your treasured keepsakes. For this repurposing hack, you’ll want to go with a theme, whether that is pop culture references, vacations, or events. With the idea in mind, you can then start adding other decorative elements like ribbons, stickers, and beads. Feel free to include any printed photos or mementos that go with it. You can also just display the keychains and hang them in organized rows.

You don’t need the traditional Christmas ornaments to decorate your tree when your keychains will do the trick. This is a great way to create a themed tree, showing off some of your favorite pop culture references or hobbies. Feel free to use the key hooks already on the chain and hang your decorative keychains right on the tree, or take off the charm and place a new ribbon or hook on it. You can even just take off the key hooks and use them for other DIY ornaments.

Since bookmarks are a must-have for the perfect home library, turning your old keychains into these spot savers is the optimal opportunity to salvage some of your favorites instead of throwing them away. There are a couple of ways to do this, including keeping a thin, flat keychain as is and placing it directly into the book with the chain and key ring hanging out. You can also get crafty and take apart the chain and charms, making your own hanging marker with other bookmark making supplies.

Before throwing out that item that is missing the zipper pull, use this trick to save a broken zipper. All you need to do is use an old keychain charm as your zipper replacement. For this trick, you can either remove the key hook and just add the charm or keep the keychain as is and attach it to the broken zipper. Once on the zipper, you will then have an easier time maneuvering your item. This is also a cool way to add your own sense of style to home items like throw pillows.

A cool way to decorate a mirror is to take keychains and attach them to the reflective surface or frame. For this project, you will need to get some kind of adhering material whether that be super glue, hot glue, or decoden cream, a Japanese glue that dries looking like whipped cream, usually added as a decorative element. Lay out your mirror and paste down the charms onto the surface or the frame. Drying times vary based on the glue you use, but give it about a couple of days to cure. Once dried, display the piece.

Keep all the items on your refrigerator’s surface organized with DIY keychain magnets. For this project, you’ll want to use your medium to larger charmed keychains. The goal is to have a charm large enough to cover a magnet. This project is also easier with flatter, solid charms and not uniquely-shaped or fabric ones. With the chosen charms, take your magnet and add some super glue to adhere them together. Wait for the glue to dry and then feel free to place your DIY magnets on the fridge.

Create a stunning, unique wind chime with items from your junk drawer by taking your keychain charms off the chain. For this project, you can use your keychains as a way to decorate, like taking your favorite charms and adding them to a wind chime you already own. Another simple option is to add any heavy or metal keychains so they bang against the tubes or bells in the wind. Don’t forget to repurpose the keychain key hook to help with hanging your outdoor musical instrument.

Keychains don’t only belong on your car or house keys; instead, use them to add some personality to your bags. Place them on any handbag, suitcase, duffle bag, baby bag, or gym bag to help differentiate, personalize, and identify the one you own. Since keychains have key hooks, it is super simple to just attach or clip it on your bag and go. Have a small bag that you want to make into a wristlet or a hanging piece for easy storing? Then, a keychain is a great add-on to your pouch.

If you have the plates, silverware, cups, and cloth napkins but are missing that one element to take your table setting game to the next level, create napkin rings out of keychains. If the key hook is large enough, you can just slip the cloth into the center of it. Keep the charms on the keychain as well to add a decorative element to your plate setting. Need a bigger ring but love the charm? No worries, just detach it and glue it to a larger hook.

Why get rid of keychains when you can simply just gift them to your kids? This is a fun way for them to add some character and comfort to their school bags. Many youngsters are also creative and can make up spontaneous, fun games with something as simple as a keychain. Give your toy-like keychains a new life by removing the key ring and chain and handing it to them to play with. You can also use them as toys in a prize or treasure box as rewards for your children.

If you have a lot of keys or other items on a hanging key rack, you can keep everything tidy with an easy keychain labeling system. This is a great organization idea if you have many key duplicates or multiple people in the house and not enough hooks. Designate a hook or keychain type for each person or place the key goes to and use your dangling keychains to separate, categorize, and label your keys. You’ll always know which one you need with just a glance.

Keychains are a fun and clever way to decorate. Take the ones that come from your favorite pop culture references and create a themed gallery wall in an entertainment space or grab all your vacation keychains and hang them on a framed map, showing all the places you’ve been. You can even add self-adhesive hooks on the edges of shelves and let your keychains hang from them. Make a chain out of multiple keychains to create curtain tie backs, a door garland, or a bead curtain that you can place over a window or door.